


Water under the Bridge

by Cassplay



Category: Ranma 1/2
Genre: Angst, Character Development, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Genderfluid Character, Genderfluid Saotome Ranma, Group Sex, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Multi, Other, Poison, Post-Canon, Post-Series, Sparring, Trans Female Character, Trans Female Konatsu, Watersports
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:40:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23587789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cassplay/pseuds/Cassplay
Summary: While picking up her medication, Konatsu Kunoichi makes a new friend. Kodachi Kuno is struggling under her parents' expectations. Ukyo harbors a crush on a certain ninja employee of hers. Ranma is suspicious of Konatsu's new friend.
Relationships: Konatsu/Kuonji Ukyou, Kunou Kodachi/Saotome Ranma
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	Water under the Bridge

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Psiidmon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Psiidmon/gifts).



> Hey! This Ranma 1/2 fanfic takes place post-canon, about 4 years after Akane and Ranma's disastrous wedding. The main 4 characters are all 20 years old and the development since the series is a major plot point.  
> Ranma is genderfluid, Konatsu is trans-female.  
> Everyone is queer unless they're rich, dead, or a panda.

To say that Kodachi Kuno had a lot of expectations riding on her was something of an understatement. As heiress to the illustrious Kuno family she was expected to marry young and carry on the family legacy. As one might expect, these expectations were entirely unwanted. She had tried to explain this to her parents, but their reactions led her to the back-alley chemist nicknamed ‘Sailor Fugu’.

Sailor Fugu’s was the place to go if you wanted untraceable poisons. She was a genius with chemicals and their effects on the human (or near-human) body, and she was still in high school, hence the name.

“It really is too bad you can’t get away with lethal poisons, Miss Kuno.” Fugu said, looking down Kodachi’s list. She let out a restrained laugh. “I’ve got some Rose-spore that would be just your style.”

“It is rather unfortunate.” Kodachi agreed, murder was technically illegal, after all. Perhaps if her parents became more desperate to find her a husband then she could justify it. No, not _if_ they became desperate; _when_ they became desperate. Although at 20 years old, she was worried that ‘ _when_ ’ would be sooner rather than later.

“Oh, sorry, I’m out of polyethylene powder.” Fugu said, looking through her register book.

“Darn it, that’s the main one I was after.” Kodachi scowled.

“What do you want laxatives for anyway?” Fugu said. “Maybe I can find you something that’ll have a similar effect.”

“My parents have been setting me up to have tea with suitors.” Kodachi said. “I can usually slip something into their cup, and they leave when they become all embarrassed and emasculated.”

“With a stop at the water closet, I’m betting.” Fugu chuckled.

“Exactly.” Kodachi said. It was about a year ago it had started, her parents had mentioned over dinner that she was getting old. She loved them, but they certainly had some old ideas. To be fair, so had she a couple of years ago.

“I can find something that has a similar effect, and is far less easy to hide the effects of.” Fugu laughed darkly.

“Thank you, Miss Fugu.” Kodachi said, and Sailor Fugu got off of her stool and went out the back to put together the order.

Kodachi looked around idly and sighed. How much longer would she have to put up with this? Not Fugu, she was lovely, if a little sinister. How much longer would she have to put up with her parents? Hadn’t she shown she was more than capable of handling everything in the family business without their interference? She was studying business at university, after all. She was the top of her class, and she even had occasional time to keep up with her gymnastics training.

She wasn’t sixteen anymore, she wasn’t desperate to marry a man anymore. She let out a sigh of regret. She really had been horrible to Ranma Saotome. She may have been a ball of hormones and expectations, but he hadn’t deserved that, and neither did his red-haired girlfriend.

She hadn’t realised why she was doing what she did as sixteen, and if what she had done wasn’t so serious, she might have looked back and laughed. She had been truly miserable then. Nothing had mattered to her but living up to her parents’ expectations, and everything that had gotten in the way of them just didn’t feel important. Friends, fun, even her own emotional needs had gone out the window.

She was shaken from her thoughts by the return of Fugu. She was carrying a small tray of bottles filled with various substances.

“I think you’ll find my selection quite up to your expectations, Miss Kuno.” She said. “I’ll even throw it in for free for my most loyal customer.”

“Thank you, Miss Fugu.” Kodachi said. “That will be all.”

“Excellent, I’ll bag this up and then you can be on your way.”

* * *

Konatsu was late, she was supposed to pick up her medicine a good half hour ago! She should have said she’d be by later; she should have known there’d be a dinner rush. Yes, her shift may have ended a whole hour ago, but she couldn’t leave Ukyo there to handle it all on her own. She mentally flagellated herself as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop.

“You dummy, she might not even like girls.” Konatsu said to herself. “And even if she did, she might not count you as one.”

She somersaulted and stood up on a roof.

“Don’t think like that, idiot.” She said, slapping her cheeks. “She’s a good person, she let me change myself to female on the employee roster.”

That was big, Konatsu could remember it well. It was after hours, they were drinking and eating some leftovers from the day’s service, and Konatsu had blurted it out. She had never exactly been in an opaque closet with regard to her gender, but it was really scary anyways. Ukyo had just said it had been fairly obvious, and asked how she’d like to be addressed from now on.

She owed Ukyo a lot. She gave her the chance to be her own woman. She was even on hormones. Way back 4 years ago, just after Ukyo had opened Okonomiyaki Ucchan, Konatsu had started working there in secret. Admittedly, it hadn’t been the most equal of relationships, but since then they had both matured. Konatsu especially, getting out from under the thumb of her evil stepmother and stepsisters had been a huge boost for her self-esteem.

Ukyo had finally stopped forcing herself to dress in feminine clothes, and had gone back to her tomboyish style. Konatsu wasn’t sure why she had stopped in the first place. If she wanted to talk about it then Konatsu hoped Ukyo knew she could always confide in her.

“Ah!” Konatsu gasped, realising she had been standing still on top of a rooftop for the past 5 minutes. “I’m so late.”

She took a run towards the next house and jumped, sailing through the air before landing and running across the next roof. Her mind, however, was still on Ukyo. How talented she was with her giant spatula, how good a teacher she was, the way her fringe stuck to her forehead when she had gotten all sweaty from the hot plate…

Konatsu then realised that she had been hanging in mid-air far too long from her previous jump. Shaken from her fantasy, she took in the situation at lightning-fast speed.

She jumped too early, and was now going to miss the roof of the next building. There was a railing, so if she could catch the concrete under it… but no, she was too far gone. She could try to leap from building to building to slow her descent, but then she would need to travel at street level. Nothing else for it then.

From her sleeve Konatsu pulled forth a chain. She flicked it upwards, and one end shot upwards like a firework. It arched over the metal railing and began to fall. This was no ordinary chain; it was one end of a kusarigama. As the chain began to coil over the rail, the momentum of the iron weight attached to it pulled it up and over again. The chain wrapped firmly around the railing.

Konatsu grabbed a hold of the handle of the scythe on the other end and pulled. The energy of her fall transferring to the chain and pulling her towards the building.

“Oh, this is going to hurt.” She groaned, mere milliseconds before she impacted on the concrete. She let out a cry of pain as her growing, and thus very sensitive left boob was pressed between the wall and a hard place (her ribs). “Ow. Ow ow ow.”

Holding onto the scythe with one hand she opened her loosed tunic to expose her fishnet-covered chest.

“Ouch.” Konatsu said, and lightly massaged her chest with her free hand.

She looked up, suddenly realising how that must look to any passers-by. Thank goodness the alleyway was clear.

Shutting her tunic, Konatsu looked up and saw the climb up to the roof ahead of her.

“I’m so late.” She groaned, trying not to add: “Because of my crush on Ukyo.”

* * *

“I should have made sure she left sooner.” Ukyo muttered as she sat down in her office chair. “I know how much getting her medication means to her.”

Of course, she hadn’t made Konatsu leave during the dinner rush. She could try to justify it to herself and say it was because of the dinner rush, but that was an obvious lie. Ukyo loved spending time with her. She loved her dedication to every little thing she attempted. Konatsu put her all into everything she tried.

Where before she walked on eggshells to avoid upsetting people, she now felt comfortable standing up for herself. Not just that, but she loved how Konatsu’s hormones were changing her. More than once she was sure Konatsu had seen her take a quick glance at her growing breasts. It was difficult not to when Konatsu wore that ninja outfit everywhere. She let it open further when she worked the grill, enough for Ukyo to have a clear view of the fishnet top she wore underneath it.

She felt her face heat up as she imagined what Konatsu would look like without her Shozoku. Nipples poking out through the holes in her top, the material slightly tented by her small breasts.

She cut off that line of thought quickly. It was far too much trouble.

She had held her feelings back for so long, and by now was easier sometimes to just passively want for affection than actively seek it. Ukyo was Konatsu’s boss, and her first friend. What if she felt she couldn’t refuse her? Ukyo couldn’t pressure her into something like that. It wouldn’t be right.

* * *

Kodachi was just waiting for Sailor Fugu to wrap up her poisons when a young woman in some sort of ninja costume slammed open the door to the back-alley chemist.

“I’m so sorry I’m late, Miss Fugu.” She said breathlessly. “I got caught up in the dinner rush.”

“Miss Kunoichi, you don’t need to schedule an appointment here.” Fugu said, picking up another brown paper package and putting it on the counter.

“Kunoichi?” Kodachi asked. “Is that why you dress like a ninja?”

“Maybe” Miss Kunoichi said mischievously. “Also, I work at Okonomiyaki Ucchan, so it’s better if my clothes are breathable.” Something sparked in Kodachi’s brain, Okonomiyaki Ucchan was run by one of black-haired Ranma’s old friends, wasn’t it?

“Oh hey, you’re that guy who was at Saotome’s failed wedding.” Kodachi said. “Konatsu, Right? But why is Sailor Fugu calling you miss?”

“I’ve got your Estrogen and poisons right here, Miss.” Fugu said sardonically. Kodachi all but smacked herself in the forehead right then and there.

“Oh, gosh, I’m sorry.” Kodachi said. “I’m Kodachi Kuno.”

“It’s really no big deal, it happens all the time.” Konatsu said. “I’m just here to pick up my medications.”

“If you’re sure.” Kodachi said, feigning certainty. “What else were you here for? Poisons?”

“Yeah, I have them at work, just to feel a bit safer.” Konatsu said. There was something in her voice that Kodachi couldn’t identify, then she got it.

“You wouldn’t poison your customers, surely?” She said slyly. Konatsu blushed.

“Maybe if me and Ukyo agreed it would be better that they don’t come back.” Konatsu admitted. Hearing how ominous that sounded, she added. “It’s nothing lethal, just a little paralytic.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, I’m just picking up some too.” Kodachi nodded towards Fugu, who looked extremely bored of this small-talk. “What’s your… well, what is your poison?”

“Recently, Pancuronium.” Konetsu said shyly. There were a few seconds before she spoke again. “What’s yours?”

“Atracurium. Other things for special occasions.” Kodachi said. Pancuronium was an odd choice. It was exceedingly dangerous in high quantities, and she said so.

“Oh, I mix it in with the Tonkatsu sauce, so I control the dosage.” Konatsu said. “It’s slow, so the customers have time to eat and pay before it takes effect.”

“Sneaky, I like it.” Kodachi grinned. She turned to Fugu, who was lightly snoozing. “Wake up, kid; unless you want us to take this stuff for free.”

“No! I’m awake!” Fugu sat up suddenly. “It’s just hearing amateurs talk about poisons is so boring.”

As Fugu took their money in exchange for the drugs, Konatsu turned to Kodachi again.

“So why do you use Atracurium?” Konatsu asked as they each received their brown wrapped packages.

“It’s effective in small doses, so I barely need someone to get a whiff before they’re out for the count.” Kodachi laughed as they walked out the door of the back-alley chemist.

“Oh yeah, I was considering that one a while ago.” Konatsu said. “We could say that the guy who landed face-first in his okonomiyaki was just allergic to shellfish. But Ukyo decided that we shouldn’t invite lawsuits like that.”

“Ukyo owns Okonomiyaki Ucchan?” Kodachi asked. She vaguely recalled that name being shouted as she crashed black-haired Ranma’s wedding.

“Yeah, she’s the best Okonomiyaki chef I know.” Konatsu nodded. There was something about how she said it, something that made it clear that Konatsu didn’t just respect Ukyo.

“Oh? Does someone have a crush on their boss?” Kodachi said.

“What?! No, why would you think that?” Konatsu said, blushing fiercely.

Kodachi shot her a look that plainly said she didn’t believe her.

“Okay, maybe I do have a tiny crush on her.” Konatsu admitted. “To think, when she first hired me, we were both competing over the affections of Ranma Saotome.”

“You too?” Kodachi said.

“Yeah, I looked pretty feminine before I started hormones, and I had hoped that would be enough to win them over.” Konatsu said, then laughed lightly. “We’ve all gone through some self-discovery since then.”

“You’re quite right about that.” Kodachi laughed softly too. “That boy was my ticket out of inevitable future obligations. And to convincing myself I exclusively liked boys.”

“These obligations are why you need the poison, I’m guessing?” Konatsu said, arching her eyebrow as she caught on to Kodachi’s plight.

“Yeah. I know I wasn’t nice to him, but if that red-haired Ranma hadn’t won the race for his heart I could have.” Kodachi said. “It worked out for the best, if I had won then I never would have realised I liked all sorts of people, not just guys.”

“Congratulations.” Konatsu said, smiling. She stopped at a side road.

“I haven’t told my parents, of course.” Kodachi said sadly, stopping beside her. “They wouldn’t understand.”

“I’m sorry. I know a bit about terrible parents; or step-parents in my case.” Konatsu said.

“Thanks. Now if only I could find that red-haired Ranma again.” Kodachi said, and laughed haughtily.

“I hope you do.” Konatsu said, then added “My place is down this way. It was nice meeting you.”

“It was nice meeting you too, Miss Kunoichi.” Kodachi said, smiling.

“Come by Okonomiyaki Ucchan some time, I’ll give you a free serve.” Konatsu said, smiling back.

“Hmm, how about I pay, and you promise you won’t poison me?” Kodachi winked.

“Deal.” Konatsu said. She started down her side street and waved. “See you there!”

Kodachi smiled to herself. Despite her misstep at the start of their conversation she felt that that went quite well.

She turned and continued on her way home.

Could she finally have a friend? After all this time?

* * *

Ranma Saotome took a deep breath from the morning air.

“Hold, two, three.”

They released.

“Hold, two, three.”

They repeated the exercise, slowly emptying their mind of everything weighing on them.

Finally, their father was gone. Not dead or anything, just retired. It was time for him to start taking things a little easier and move to the countryside. Ranma had joked that he could just live as a panda for the rest of his life, he’d still get laid just as often. He’d gone into a flying kick at them for that. Ranma didn’t ever think that the two of them would ever be friendly, per se, but over the years Ranma had come to the conclusion that living well was payback enough.

Living well meant living as themself openly. No more pretending to hate it every time they got splashed with cold water, and no more false relief every time they had finished warming some up.

“We sure do live in a society.” Ranma said. It was just about three years since they had finally figured everything out. Maybe being fate’s plaything wasn’t so bad if it got you where you really wanted to be? With their old man gone they could finally say it outside of the cloistered confines of their room at the Tendo estate. “My name is Ranma Saotome and I’m Genderfluid.”

They smiled as the words met their ears.

Yeah, things couldn’t be better.

“Hey, are you masturbating up there or something?” Akane Tendo’s voice called from over the side of the building. Ranma hung their head, got up, and walked to look over the side of the building they were using to meditate.

“No, I’m not masturbating! I’m meditating.” They called down into the courtyard of the School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. “Like you would know what meditation is!”

“I do so know!” Akane shouted up at them. “Have you still not found anyone to date? Is that why you need to bust a nut up on the roof?”

Oh, apart from that. That could be better. It’s not Akane’s heckling that they minded, it’s that she was right. Ranma had been single for at least four years. Ever since they and Akane’s failed marriage. Akane was brilliant, but the two of them were so much better as friends and co-teachers at her late father’s Dojo.

“No, I’m still not dating anyone.” Ranma called down, rolling their eyes. Akane just had the tendency to keep a joke going on a little too long.

“So, you _were_ masturbating?” She called up.

“I’m going for a walk!” Ranma shouted. They didn’t have a class to teach for another hour, and they had to get out of here for a bit.

Under an hour later, they realised that this was a mistake.

“Oh no!” Ranma said, realising just how long they must have been sitting here. They had maybe five minutes left to be back at the Anything Goes School before the class that they were supposed to be teaching started. They stood up from the river bank. “Why did I decide to take a nap?!”

They scrambled up the grassy hill to the footpath and took off running.

“Why did I go so far away?!” Ranma said. “Stupid Akane!”

They turned right, away from the river. Ducking past other pedestrians, Ranma had to admit that at least this was a good time to get in a little warm-up before class. They leapt up a wall and ran along it for a while, momentum keeping them balanced as they soared over the people below. Dropping to the pavement in a crouch, Ranma tried their best to keep up with their pace.

Up ahead they saw a crosswalk with traffic lights. Something they had been hoping against hope that this route wouldn’t take them through. A crowd was already gathered and waiting. Ranma joined the back of the pack and craned their neck to try and see the traffic, hoping to judge how long until the lights changed so they and the crowd could cross.

A face in the crowd on the other side of the crosswalk stuck out, and Ranma’s eyes went wide.

Kodachi Kuno, the Black Rose.

Maybe she wouldn’t recognise them? No, practically impossible even after four years. They were in their black-haired form right now; she would definitely recognise them.

Ranma glanced around and spotted a tap on the side of a building just behind where they were standing. Thank goodness for this ‘curse’ keeping a source of cold water near them most of the time.

Rushing over to the tap, Ranma turned it on. Cold water flowed out. Not just cold water, icy water.

“This is gonna suck.” Ranma said as they plunged their black hair under the water and emerged with red hair. The fact that their body had changed to what some might term ‘distinctly feminine’ was old news to them.

They shook the hair out, and began squeezing the waterlogged braid, jogging back to the start of the crosswalk. They made it just in time to cross.

Ranma glanced subtly at Kodachi, trying to determine if she saw them, and if she recognised them.

“Oh, hello Ranma.” Kodachi said, smiling warmly as she waved and passed in the street.

Ranma turned around, walking as they watched her go. What?

Kodachi was just walking away, like she had never thought that they were rivals for black-haired Ranma’s affections.

They hadn’t seen her in the past four years, what if she had changed? Could people change that drastically? Could Kodachi Kuno?

That’s when Ranma’s shoe hit the curb and they tripped over.

Scrambling to get up reminded Ranma of exactly why they had been crossing the road. They were late to teach a class!

“Argh, I’m so going to be late!”

* * *

Konatsu’s spatulas clicked and clacked against the hot plate, working to manoeuvre an okonomiyaki onto one of them for a flip.

“Two more, one with bacon!” Ukyo called out from the counter.

“Yes chef!” Konatsu said, finally flipping her current order. She grabbed the ladle and scooped two piles of batter onto the hot plate. They sizzled as they hit the metal, and she took extra care to not tear them as she carefully spread them out. Returning to the first okonomiyaki, she basted it in tonkatsu sauce before flipping it and basting the other side.

“And there’s a lady here asking for you, says she’s Kodachi Kuno.” Ukyo said.

“Kodachi?” Konatsu said, slightly puzzled. Sure, she had offered to treat her the other night, but she hadn’t expected the other woman to take her up on the offer. Still, since she was here… “Tell her I’ll be out in a minute on break.”

Ukyo relayed the information to the out-of-sight Kodachi and walked over to Konatsu.

“I don’t have to be jealous, do I?” Ukyo said, teasingly. “Is she a fellow restauranteur here to steal away my best girl?”

“Oh, nothing like that.” Konatsu laughed awkwardly. “We met at my medicine place a few days ago and I offered her some okonomiyaki.”

“Well, as much as I hate giving things away for free.” Ukyo said, stony faced for a second before she smiled. “I’ll bring you out one each. It’s on the house.”

“Ukyo, you’re the best.” Konatsu said, wrapping her arms around Ukyo. “Thank you!”

“It’s nothing, go out there and have fun.” Ukyo said, taking the spatulas from Konatsu’s hands. She couldn’t help but feel a spark as their hands touched, or maybe it was just wishful thinking. “I know you need some friends that aren’t your boss.”

Konatsu hung her apron on a hook just inside the kitchen door with her hairnet, dumped her disposable gloves in the bin, and marched out into the eating section.

Kodachi was already sitting down at a table. She waved as Konatsu approached.

“Hey, how are you?” She asked as Konatsu sat down.

“We just got through the lunch rush, it’s a good thing you didn’t come half an hour earlier.” Konatsu said.

“It must be busy working in such a popular place.” Kodachi said.

“It can be, but we make sure it’s worth the wait.” Konatsu smiled. “Ukyo is going to bring us out some okonomiyaki soon, it’s on the house.”

“I’ll need to thank her.” Kodachi smiled. Her smile dropped almost imperceptibly. “I never really got to eat stuff like this when I was a kid.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Konatsu said. “When I was really young… my father didn’t make much money, then he got lucky and married a rich lady, but I still never got to eat stuff like this.”

“She didn’t eat nice food?” Kodachi asked. “But why not, if she was rich?”

“She did, I didn’t.” Konatsu said sheepishly. “She treated me pretty badly. What about you?”

“Both of my parents felt that it was important to ‘maintain my figure’.” Kodachi scowled. She waved a hand. “Of course, I agreed because I thought getting fat would stop me from doing gymnastics.”

“You’re a gymnast?” Konatsu asked. “What sort?”

“All sorts, including martial, and I was good.” Kodachi said.

“You _were_ good?” Konatsu said, emphasising the past tense.

“I still practice occasionally, but I mostly grew out of it.” Kodachi said, shrugging. “Not much time with business school.”

“I would’ve loved to see you in action.” Konatsu said. “I’m a bit of an acrobat, myself.”

“Is that the real reason why you’re always dressed up as a ninja?” Kodachi said.

“Yeah. I spent a lot of time dodging thrown brooms, so I snuck into the library and took a bunch of ninjutsu scrolls to help me evade better.” Konatsu said nonchalantly.

“Konatsu, that’s not okay!” Kodachi said.

“It’s no big deal, my stepmother kicked me out ages ago.” Konatsu said. She lowered her gaze to the table. “I’m not going to say I’ve gotten over it all, but I’ve come to terms with what she did to me.”

“Konatsu, I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” Kodachi said.

“Well isn’t this just depressing?” Ukyo said from where she had crept up beside their table. “Here’s something that’s sure to cheer you up.”

“Thanks, Ukyo.” Konatsu said as Ukyo put down the two plates of okonomiyaki.

“Thank you, Miss Kuonji.” Kodachi said.

“Oh, now I remember you.” Ukyo said, tapping her hand with a fist list a judge’s gavel. “You’re that Black Rose girl who was after Ranma.”

“Yeah, I was.” Kodachi said. “I’m long past that crush I had on him, though. I just wish I hadn’t been so good at pushing that red-haired Ranma away, then I might be able to meet her properly.”

Ukyo and Konatsu shared a look, Kodachi obviously didn’t know about Ranma’s Jusenkyo ‘curse’, or the fact that the black-haired Ranma and red-haired Ranma were a singular ‘they’. Knowing it was probably best to steer the conversation away from Ranma, since theirs was a secret they shouldn’t tell, Konatsu spoke up.

“Kodachi was just telling me about how she was a gymnast.” She said.

“Yeah, you used to poison your competitors, right?” Ukyo said.

“I mean, I’d never tell.” Kodachi said, smirking. “But I was very lucky.”

“What’s the chances of that, two acrobatic poison-wielders meeting each other down a dark alley?” Ukyo said, laughter slightly forced. She gestured to the okonomiyaki in front of each of them. “I’ll let you both get to eating. I hope you enjoy!”

Ukyo turned and made her way back to the kitchen, leaving the two women alone with their food. Konatsu thought around for something to say as she took as bite.

“So, how well do you think you’ve held up your skills?” She asked. Kodachi chewed slowly, a smile spreading across her face.

“Oh wow, this is fantastic.” Kodachi said, she looked back up at Konatsu. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“I asked how good at fighting you are, since you’ve not been training as much.” Konatsu said, plucking a particularly large bonito flake from the top of her okonomiyaki and letting it melt on her tongue.

“Oh, I can still rumble with the best of them.” Kodachi said slyly. She looked up at Konatsu. “You wouldn’t be up for a spar sometime, would you?”

“Sure, that’d be fun.” Konatsu smiled.

“Non-lethal poisons only?” Kodachi said.

“Sure, name a time and place.” Konatsu said. She chuckled. “Preferably sometime outside business hours.”

“Of course.” Kodachi said, a glint in her eye. “How about Saturday morning?”

“That sounds good. We can use the roof here, it’s big enough.” Konatsu said. “But no poisoning until we start, alright?”

“Okay, if you want to ruin all the fun.” Kodachi said, feigning disappointment. She took another bite of the okonomiyaki and glanced up. “This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten; I see why you like her.”

Konatsu blushed, not bothering to refute the very true statement.

* * *

Maybe it was her competitive nature getting the best of her, but Kodachi couldn’t resist a little twist. Outside business hours not only allowed Konatsu’s attendance at their fight, but also allowed Kodachi to shake things up a bit.

Which brought her back to Okonomiyaki Ucchan mere minutes after Konatsu had said goodbye to her and gone back to working the hot plate.

“Excuse me, Miss Kuonji?” Kodachi said, seeing the owner clearing away plates.

“Welcome back, Miss Kuno.” Ukyo said pleasantly. “Did you leave something behind?”

“More that I didn’t leave something behind.” She said. Ukyo’s face twisted in a confused expression. “My compliments, of course!”

“Oh, thank you.” Ukyo smiled, now understanding what Kodachi meant.

“Your okonomiyaki is the best I’ve ever tasted.” Kodachi said, not bothering to clarify that it was also the only okonomiyaki she had ever tasted. “So delicious.”

“I should hope so.” Ukyo said, assuredly.

“I should also probably ask, are you and Konatsu a thing?” Kodachi asked and Ukyo’s eyes went wide. Bingo.

“No, no, why would you think that?” Ukyo said. Kodachi could tell she was telling the truth, but Ukyo couldn’t mask that she certainly wanted them to be a ‘thing’.

“Just wondering. She is super cute though.” Kodachi said, enjoying the small flicker of jealousy. By brushing her off, Kodachi had planted the seed. “And ever so daring, wearing a fishnet top in public.”

“Yeah, she certainly is.” Ukyo said.

“Anyway, I might see you Saturday for lunch, after me and Konatsu’s sparring session.” Kodachi said, offhandedly. “Thank you for letting us use the roof, by the way.”

“Sparring session?” Ukyo asked. She was really suspicious now.

“Yeah, we’re both acrobatic young women who need to keep up our training. We thought we’d see how our skill levels compare.” Kodachi said and then feigned a sudden realisation. “But I should probably be getting going, I’m late already.”

“Oh, okay.” Ukyo said, at a loss for words.

“Goodbye, Miss Kuonji.” Kodachi said, waving as she left the shop, leaving the jealous woman behind. A grin stretched across Kodachi’s face as she made her way out onto the busy streets.

* * *

“How very dare she?!” Ukyo said to herself as Kodachi walked out the door of Okonomiyaki Ucchan. “Flaunting her prowess right in my restaurant.”

This ‘sparring session’ was obviously code for a romantic rendezvous. Ukyo ground her teeth, trying not to imagine Konatsu with Kodachi. Sitting on a picnic blanket in a secluded spot. Feeding each other Takoyaki. The fact that they were eating Takoyaki only slightly overshadowed by the thought of them together.

Ukyo turned on her heel and marched straight through the kitchen, where Konatsu was back working the hot plate, and into her office.

She sat down at her desk, hands trembling.

No, she couldn’t let herself jump to conclusions. Maybe it really was just sparring? The Black Rose, noted tournament cheat, wanted to spar with Konatsu. Ukyo had to do something, she had to protect her. But what if it was a date? She couldn’t interfere, that would be selfish.

“Argh.” Ukyo groaned. She really must be useless, to be this worked up over this. Harbouring feelings for someone for more than four years was enough to make anyone upset when they had some sort of meeting with a compatible person. But it was still wrong of her. Konatsu didn’t belong to her, and she didn’t want to pretend she did.

“No, stop it.” Ukyo said out loud to herself. “You’re being negative. Use the exercises Ranma taught you.”

She breathed in for three seconds, and held for three seconds.

She breathed out for three seconds, and held for three seconds.

Repeating the cycle, Ukyo soon felt herself start to relax as the adrenaline in her system began to degrade.

“I am not useless.” Ukyo recited from memory. “I deserve to be happy.”

She repeated the affirmations a few times until she was feeling better. It took a while.

“Okay, I need to at least drop in at some point to make sure Konatsu’s okay.” She said, finally. “It shouldn’t be too suspicious for me to do that. It is going to be right above my store, and my apartment.”

* * *

“Ugh, why did we have to run so late?” Konatsu groaned as she closed up Okonomiyaki Ucchan for the night. Service had gone on for so long, there were still people coming in for dinner at 10:30. “Really, how rude could you be?”

She turned and set off towards home. Without looking, and through muscle memory alone, Konatsu jumped on top of the bins, leapt onto a pipe, and climbed it up to the roof of Okonomiyaki Ucchan.

With a running start she jumped over to the next roof, and the next. Before she knew it, she was on her way home.

Now just to think up a strategy against Kodachi. What weapons Should she bring? Shuriken were essential, as were Kunai. Maybe she should bring some powder bombs? The ones she made herself were still in the prototype stage, but this might be a good chance to test them out.

What poisons she should bring was also something she needed to consider. Pancuronium was right out, she already mentioned to Kodachi that she had been favouring it lately, and she would most likely take an antidote for it before the fight. She could stop by Sailor Fugu’s, but Kodachi might visit and interrogate the prodigy. She did get that new compound in her package from Fugu’s, she could try that.

How would she prepare for Kodachi’s offense? She had said she knew a bunch of different types of gymnastics, so she could probably switch up on the fly. Was she more aerial focussed or acrobatic focussed? What about that nickname ‘the Black Rose’, was that literal? Did she really fashion weapons out of black roses?

If only she knew someone who had fought Kodachi before…

Konatsu rolled her eyes at the thought. She drew her kusarigama from inside her Shozoku and whipped the chain around a street lamp. She swung around it, changing her direction like Supaidaman, except she wasn’t a man.

She leapt onto the new house, and to another.

Ranma would have some answers for her. They had fought Kodachi before.

Mere minutes later, she rang the doorbell to Ranma’s apartment.

“Just a bit!” They called out from inside. Konatsu waited a few moments before Ranma shouted again. “On my way!”

Ranma opened the door in their nightclothes, with dripping wet hair, and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Konatsu? Hi. Umm, what did you want?” They said, a slightly confused tone in their voice.

“I need some advice for how to deal with a girl.” Konatsu said. Wait, was she intruding? “If you don’t mind, that is.”

“Oh, no, not at all.” Ranma said, and stood back from the door. “Come on in.”

“Thanks.” Konatsu said, as she entered.

“Sorry, I don’t have any tea or anything, otherwise I’d offer you some.” Ranma said, and closed the front door. They sat down on opposite sides of a table. “Although, I haven’t had much luck lately in the girl department.”

“Oh, it’s not like that.” Konatsu said. “It’s just friendly. I met this girl the other day and we decided to spar together.”

“Okay, so why do you need my help with her?” Ranma asked.

“Well, you’ve fought her before, so I hoped you might have some insight to her fighting style.” Konatsu said, shrugging.

“Sure, who is it?” Ranma asked nonchalantly.

“Kodachi Kuno.” Konatsu said, grimacing slightly as Ranma’s face went pale.

“Kodachi Kuno?!” Ranma said, all but leaping out of their seat. “Why are you fighting her?!”

“Well, it’s just a friendly sparring session, we aren’t fighting.” Konatsu said. “We got talking about poisons and acrobatics while we had okonomiyaki today.”

Ranma’s mouth fell open. “Kodachi Kuno ate okonomiyaki? We are talking about the same Kodachi here, aren’t we?”

“The Gymnast known as the Black Rose? I only know of the one.” Konatsu said. She thought Ranma’s reaction was a little extreme. But then again, the last time they saw Kodachi was probably their failed wedding to Akane. “She did say it was her first time having one.”

“It is the same Kodachi, I can’t believe it.” Ranma said. “And you’re sure this is just a friendly spar?”

“Yeah, she was the one who suggested it, and the non-lethal poisons only rule.” Konatsu said.

“I… I don’t know what to believe anymore.” Ranma said, head in their hands. “First she waves ‘hello’ to me this morning, and now I learn you two are friends?”

“You saw her this morning?” Konatsu asked. That must have been when she was on her way to Okonomiyaki Ucchan.

“Just in passing on a crosswalk.” Ranma said. “I was in my red-haired form and she was acting all friendly!”

“Oh…” Konatsu smiled. She knew why, and as much as she wanted to keep a secret… “She still has a crush on you.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.” Ranma said. “I even changed forms so she might not notice me.”

“It’s been a while; She’s changed quite a bit, from what I heard from her before.” Konatsu said. “She did some self-reflecting.”

“What?” Ranma said, once again looking confused. Then their eyes widened in shock. “You don’t mean she likes the red-haired me?”

“Yeah. She’s mentioned twice how much she regrets how she chased you away.”

“You didn’t mention how I’m both Ranmas?”

“No, of course not, that’s your secret to tell.” Konatsu said. “But she was making no secret of her sapphic tendencies.”

“This has gotta be a trap then.” Ranma said.

“That sounds paranoid.” Konatsu pointed out. “Haven’t we all changed since your wedding?”

“Well, yes…” Ranma said. “But not that much.”

“You figured out you’re genderfluid in the time since.” Konatsu said. She caught herself at that, why was she defending Kodachi? Maybe she hadn’t changed, maybe it was all a trap?

“You have a point. But my realisation was a long time coming.” Ranma said. “I suppose going after a man who wouldn’t want to be with you is enough to convince yourself that you’re straight.”

“No, I don’t really know. I might have been hoodwinked by her, if she’s as coniving as you’re saying. I hope not though.” Konatsu said. If only there was some way to get someone there to judge Kodachi’s actions and interfere in case she did something untoward. “How about you come along? That way if she does something strange you can interfere.”

“That’s a good idea, she won’t be expecting me to show up.” Ranma nodded. “I can hide behind a door or something.”

“Thanks, Ranma.” Konatsu said. “I promise to treat you to an okonomiyaki sometime.”

* * *

The day had come for Konatsu’s sparring session with Kodachi. Ranma was in place at the top of the roof access more than half an hour before the two combatants were to start. In their red-haired form, just in case they needed to interfere. If this was a trick, the last thing they wanted Kodachi to know was that her beloved black-haired Ranma was back in town.

The fight would take place on the roof of Okonomiyaki Ucchan. The store wouldn’t be open for nearly six hours yet. It was early, so people would still be sleeping off the previous night of partying.

They had been stunned and confused when Konatsu had told them about Kodachi. It seemed so unlikely, and yet part of Ranma was hopeful. Kodachi was far past zealous in her pursuit of their black-haired form, but Ranma found themselves unable to blame her. Hadn’t they all done stupid stuff in a vain attempt to prove they were ‘normal’? Ranma supressed a laugh at those times that Ukyo had turned up to school wearing a dress.

If Kodachi wasn’t as dogmatic with her advances, who knows? Ranma had eyes, they had known that Kodachi was rather attractive since they first met, that time they saved her from falling off a roof. Ranma was partly ashamed to admit some of that ‘aggressive’ schtick was rather attractive. They were also a little ashamed to admit that they had woken up after dreams involving the girl to a rather annoying surprise and a load of laundry.

Maybe it would have been a bad thing if they had gotten together four years ago, this self-discovery that Kodachi had gone through might not have happened if she was dating black-haired Ranma. Or maybe it would have happened sooner? Kodachi would have found out about Ranma’s dual forms eventually. Would she have taken to red-haired Ranma as well?

Ranma shook their head, there was no use thinking about possibilities. The story that Kodachi had conveyed to Konatsu was certainly possible, there was no debating that. Whether it was real or not was another thing.

There was a knock at the door. Ranma stared out through the peep-hole they had made. Konatsu was beyond it. Ranma knocked back, letting her know they were there.

Ranma took a sip of water. It was important to keep continuously hydrated on stake-outs. Not to just drink when someone was thirsty.

If this was truly just a friendly fight, they were sure they’d all laugh about this later. Not to mention that Ranma would have the chance to watch two of their former opponents fight each other.

“Huh.” Konatsu breathed sharply from outside. Ranma looked through the peep-hole. Konatsu was just doing some warm-ups.

They moved back and breathed a sigh of relief, for a second there they thought that Kodachi had gotten in a sneak attack on her.

Minutes ticked by slowly. Far too slowly. Ranma supressed a yawn, and was just considering ducking out to the toilet when she arrived.

Kodachi jumped up and over the side of the building in a shower of rose petals. Her teal leotard looking rather snug.

“Nice entrance!” Konatsu said, waving at the other girl.

“Thanks.” Kodachi said. “It’s a little impractical when I have to set up the cannons myself, though.”

“Well worth it, you’ve got some panache there.” Konatsu said. Kodachi turned away from the door and Ranma’s eyes widened. Kodachi’s ill-fitting leotard was extremely effective at framing her butt. She was a gymnast, after all. She must have done lots of squats.

Regardless of that, it seemed that Kodachi’s intentions were indeed pure. Ranma couldn’t be sure until they had identified which poisons that she was using, but their hopes were high.

“I do my best.” Kodachi said. She walked back over to the side of the building she had made her entrance from and grabbed a bag from out of sight. “I’m just gonna put my clothes bag in the stairwell, then we can start.”

Ranma’s heart began to race when they heard that. They looked around desperately for somewhere to hide.

A few seconds later, Kodachi opened the door and swung her bag onto the floor. She looked around suspiciously for a second, before giving a sly grin and shutting the door.

Ranma let out the breath they had been holding and dropped down from where they had been braced against the ceiling. They shuffled over towards the bag and took a look inside.

It contained civilian clothes, a purse, bottles of poisons and antidotes, and other normal stuff that one might expect an average young woman to have in a gym bag. Ranma quickly checked over the poisons and was pleased to find nothing lethal at the low enough levels to be a problem.

Ranma looked back out the peep-hole. Kodachi had brought some weapons with her too. Well, more like gymnastics equipment. Her ribbon was coiled tightly around her waist, and a small device was clipped to her shoulder. Before Ranma had time to guess what nefarious thing it might be, Kodachi had pressed a button, and it had expanded into a hula-hoop.

“Ready?” Kodachi said, dropping into a crouch.

“Ready!” Konatsu said, drawing some shuriken.

“Go!” They shouted together.

Konatsu struck first, she jumped into the air and let her shuriken fly directly for Kodachi. Kodachi was quick to retaliate. She twirled on her toes, dodging to the side and launching her hula-hoop. Konatsu was in the air, she couldn’t push off anything to dodge.

Ranma felt their hand on the doorknob, but held steady.

Konatsu had it figured out. She drew a kunai and slashed at the last moment, sending the hoop away from her, soaring over Kodachi’s head.

Ranma saw what was coming, and they were proved correct a moment later. Kodachi drew her ribbon wand and flicked it to the ring. The ribbon curled around the hula-hoop, holding tight. Kodachi wielded the wand like it was a medieval flail as she brought it swooping around in a wide arc back towards Konatsu.

Back on the ground, Konatsu had drawn her kusarigama. As the hoop honed in on her, she ducked at the last second, letting the weighted end of her weapon coil around the ribbon and hoop. The two lengths became taut, and Konatsu began to drag Kodachi towards her.

It was a good strategy, Ranma thought. Kodachi was mostly a ranged fighter. While Konatsu excelled there too, she had more up-close experience than Kodachi. If Konatsu could just avoid… that.

Kodachi had flicked her wrist, and where previously her ribbon had a firm grip on the hula-hoop, it was now loose. The tension was released and the hoop crashed backwards into Konatsu’s arm. Kodachi let out a high laugh and began coiling up her ribbon.

“Out of practice?” Konatsu asked, getting up and slowly undoing her Kusarigama from the hoop.

“What can I say? I was on my way to the nationals.” Kodachi said.

Ranma was stunned, they had just let the fight end by itself? But then they noticed, the hula-hoop was shining slightly around the outside edge. Hair-thin needles, likely coated in poison.

“What did you put on it?” Konatsu asked, rolling up her sleeve. There was a slightly raised line of skin where the hoop had impacted. “It stings a bit.”

“A dilute formic acid solution, the stuff that’s in ant venom.” Kodachi said. Ranma was so focussed on trying to see Konatsu’s wound that they barely noticed in time that Kodachi was heading for the stairwell again. Kodachi opened the door.

“Please don’t move your bag.” Ranma thought desperately. Their fingers were hidden under the bag, barely holding onto the concrete landing of the top floor.

Kodachi rummaged a bit, but managed to find what she was looking for. She closed the door and Ranma was dropped to the ground. Running up the stairs, they managed to see Kodachi hand the tub to Konatsu.

“Put some of this on it, it’ll relieve the pain but the swelling will take time.” She said.

“Thanks.” Konatsu said as she unscrewed the cap and began to smear the cream inside on her upper arm over the sting. “That was a good move, how do you get your ribbon to be so stiff, then so flowing?”

“It’s made of an electro-reactive fibre.” Kodachi said pulling out the ribbon. She flicked her wrist and it became stiff. “When I run a low-level current through it the fabric stiffens, slightly higher and it becomes solid.”

“Cool.” Konatsu said, admiring the weapon.

“That was a pretty good move with your chain.” Kodachi said, taking back the jar.

“I knew it was too good to be true, the slow-down in combat as I dragged you in gave you a chance to react.” Konatsu said, rather sheepishly.

Ranma smiled. It was the truth after all. Kodachi was being genuine in her friendship with Konatsu. They breathed yet another sigh of relief and turned to leave.

Only to find themselves face to face with Ukyo. Ukyo wielding her giant okonomiyaki spatula. Ukyo with a look on her face that said, very clearly, that she was not happy.

* * *

“Aargh!” Ranma yelled as Ukyo tackled them out onto the roof. Kodachi turned swiftly, so did Konatsu. At the flash of movement when the door opened, they let fly with weapons on instinct. A Black Rose and a powder bomb.

The rose hit the powder bomb, spearing through it and spraying the powder all over Ukyo and Ranma.

“Ukyo?!” Konatsu shouted in surprise. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realise it was you!”

“Red-haired Ranma?” Kodachi said. “But it was just meant to be Ukyo there!”

“What do you mean, Kodachi?” Ranma asked.

“Kodachi you jerk, making me think you two were on a date!” Ukyo said, seeing clearly now that the pair had actually been sparring. She tried to get up, but found her limbs strangely slow to respond. They raised only a few centimetres off the ground before they dropped back down. Ranma seemed similarly affected. “Oh, great. Now we’re paralysed.”

“Kodachi, what does Ukyo mean, that she thought we were on a date?” Konatsu turned, hands on hips, to the Black Rose.

“I may have doubled back and mentioned our sparring session.” Kodachi said wickedly. “Just to set things up for you two to meet on the roof we finished.”

“But we see each other every day!” Ukyo said.

“Yeah, and you two still don’t know that you’re both into each other.” Kodachi said, like she was unveiling her master plan. She pointed at Ranma. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to make sure you can’t poison Konatsu.” Ranma said.

“I- probably deserve that.” Kodachi said, head hung in shame. “You have no reason to trust me around your friends, especially after all I put you through.”

“Hang on, let’s go back for a second.” Konatsu said. She turned to Ukyo. “Do you really like me?”

“I do!” Ukyo admitted. Her guilt spilling out. “I’m so sorry to have kept this from you, it’s not right for a boss to have a crush on their employee.”

“Ukyo.” Konatsu said, she knelt beside her, eyes shining with tears. “I love you.”

“You do?” Ukyo said, eyes wide and also filling with tears. “I love you too!”

Konatsu pressed her lips against Ukyo’s. Ukyo ached to put her arms around the Kunoichi, but for now she persisted with just trying to deepen the kiss.

“Well, that’s my job done.” Kodachi said, sounding very self-satisfied.

“Kodachi, thank you, you jerk.” Ukyo said once she detached herself from Konatsu. Konatsu was a great kisser. She was so wet…

Wait.

Too wet.

She felt her face heat up.

“Ukyo? What is it?” Konatsu said. “Am I that bad of a kisser?”

Ukyo looked over at Ranma. They had begun blushing too.

“Konatsu, what was that paralytic powder supposed to do?” Ukyo asked, feeling all eyes on her.

“Just paralyse someone, why?” Konatsu said. “It’s a small dose that you got, so it should wear off soon.”

“Then it’s your fault!” Ukyo looked over at Kodachi. “The drug in your stupid flower is making me…”

“What?” Kodachi asked, confused. “That flower doesn’t have any poison. What do you think I’ve done to you?”

The answer became obvious to anyone familiar with the rules of the Jusenkyo ‘curse’ as red-haired Ranma was suddenly replaced with black-haired Ranma.

“Ranma?!” Kodachi shouted, even more confused.

Konatsu understood.

“You mean, you’re…” She asked.

“Yep.” Ukyo said. Her nerves thrummed as the embarrassment settled in. She bit her lip.

“What? How?” Kodachi said, pointing at Ranma.

“I’m Genderfluid.” Ranma said. “I’m both Ranmas. I switch when I get wet with warm or cool liquids.”

“Warm liquids… Oh.” Kodachi said, taking things in rather quickly. Her eyes widened. She looked at Konatsu. “Oh no!”

“What?” Konatsu answered.

“We must have switched parcels at Sailor Fugu’s!” Kodachi said. “I was looking for something to embarrass potential marriages and she was out of laxatives!”

“Well, this works just as well.” Ranma said. “Is there an antidote?”

“No, you just have to wait half an hour for it to wear off.” Kodachi said, dropping to the floor. She was shaking. “This is all my fault.”

“Kodachi?” Ukyo asked. “Are you okay?”

“It’s all me. I’m poison.” Kodachi sobbed. “I hurt everyone around me. I haven’t changed from that creep who was pursuing black-haired Ranma all those years ago.”

“Can you get me over to her?” Ukyo asked Konatsu. She obliged, and dragged Ukyo’s immovable body over to the crying woman. “Hey.”

“I can’t even try to have one friend without it backfiring.” Kodachi groaned.

“Hey!” Ukyo shouted at her. Kodachi threw a glance her way. “Listen to me! You are not poison!”

“Who haven’t I hurt?” Kodachi cried out.

“You set up this meet-cute for me and Konatsu.” Ukyo said.

“And look how that’s turned out.”

“This isn’t forever, it’s going to be half an hour, isn’t that what you said?” Ukyo said. “But you’ve helped me and Konatsu realise we love each other.”

“You would have ended up together eventually.” Kodachi said.

“Then you saved us years of pain until one of us finally got desperate enough to try!” Ukyo said. “Now repeat after me; I am a good person.”

“I’m not!” Kodachi said, she gestured to Ranma. “What about all I did to… um…”

“Them.” Ranma supplied.

“Them?” Kodachi finished.

“We all do stupid things trying to hide who we are.” Ranma said. “I pretended I hated this ability for years.”

“I wore a dress.” Ukyo supplied.

“And whom amongst us hasn’t tried to kill Ranma at some point?” Konatsu said.

“It’s not a joke!” Kodachi cried out. “I was horrible to you.”

“Kodachi!” Ranma shouted. “I forgive you!”

“You shouldn’t!”

“Well, too bad!” Ranma said. With just the momentum provided by just shaking their head, Ranma managed to roll over to Kodachi. Ukyo inwardly cringed at the wet sounds their pants were making. “I do anyway. You’ve changed, and like Konatsu said, most of my friends have tried to kill me at some time or another.”

“You really mean it?” Kodachi sniffed.

“I mean it.” Ranma said. “When we saw each other a few days ago I might not have thought it was possible. But now I understand why you did what you did way back then.”

Kodachi sniffed, and Ukyo thought it was a good time to try again.

“You’ve had nothing but good intentions throughout this whole affair, we were the ones being suspicious. You’re a good person, Kodachi.” She said. “I want to hear you say it.”

“I’m a good person.” Kodachi mumbled.

“Louder!” Ukyo yelled.

“I’m a good person.” Kodachi said.

“Louder!” Ukyo yelled, even louder.

“I’m a good person!” Kodachi shouted, screwing up her face. A flicker of a smile flashed about her, and she let it take hold. She looked around at them all. “Thank you, everyone.”

“No, thank you.” Ranma said. They managed to move an arm enough to pat her lightly on the shoulder. There was a dripping sound, and Ranma’s eyes closed in anticipation of their coming embarrassment.

Ukyo’s eyes followed the sound.

“Ranma… are you turned on right now?” She asked.

“No, definitely not.” Ranma said, moving an arm to cover the bulge in their pants.

“Ha ha!” Ukyo said, hoping to draw attention away from her own embarrassment. “You are.”

“Ukyo, you seem to be rather enjoying this too.” Kodachi said softly.

“No way, I am not!” Ukyo said.

“Ukyo…” Konatsu said, and swooped down for a kiss. “You’re adorable when you’re lying.”

“Shut up.” Ukyo said, grabbing the front of Konatsu’s Shozuko and pulling her in for another kiss.

She vaguely heard Kodachi say something, then Ranma responded.

“Well my legs aren’t working at the moment, so d’you want to kiss too?” Ranma said.

“Are you sure?” Kodachi said, hesitating.

“Sure,” Ranma said. “And I may look like a guy, but I’m not really feeling much gender at the moment.”

“No, I meant, are you sure you would want to with me?”

“Yeah, you’re the hottest of all my potential betrotheds.” Ranma said. Ukyo shot them an annoyed look, and Ranma attempted to append the statement. They were cut off when Kodachi climbed on top of them and started kissing them.

Not to be outdone, Ukyo grabbed one of Konatsu’s hands and put it on her breast.

“Does that feel good?” She asked.

“Uh-huh.” Konatsu said, her face red.

Ukyo smiled into their kiss. She had waited so long for this. Even if Ranma and Kodachi were right next to them it couldn’t spoil her fun. In fact, she could think of a way to enhance it.

“Kodachi, remember what you were saying about Konatsu’s fishnet top?” Ukyo asked.

“Well, obviously.” Kodachi said. “Why do you ask?”

What she suggested next made Kodachi’s eyes widen in shock and anticipation.

* * *

About a half-hour later and the four finally managed to get up from their intimate encounter and head back down to Ukyo’s apartment the floor above Okonomiyaki Ucchan. They marched into the shower, pointedly ignoring the flashing light on Ukyo’s telephone that showed she had missed calls.

Incredibly, even with four people in Ukyo’s tiny shower, they all managed to get clean before they got dirty again. Konatsu even indulged in Ukyo’s more deliberate version of the fantasy they had stumbled into on the roof.

Kodachi enjoyed every second of it. She had started this week without any friends, now she had three extremely sexy ones. They made their way to Ukyo’s double bed, with Ranma staying in the shower a little longer to change into their red-haired form, and curled up in each other’s arms. Kodachi smiled; she felt very loved, and this time she believed it.

Who knows, maybe she had a chance with Ranma this time. With the real Ranma, that is, not an object to prove that she exclusively liked men.

She had just begun to drift off to sleep, snuggled up against Ranma’s soft breast when Ukyo shot upright.

“Crap!” She shouted. “I need to open the store in an hour!”

**Author's Note:**

> Remember: Repeat after Ukyo! “I am not useless. I deserve to be happy.”


End file.
